Speaker of the Somali Parliament opposes disbanding of Finance Committee

MOGADISHU (RBB NEWS) – The speaker of the Somali Parliament Mohamed Mursal Abdirahman has opposed the decision to disband the parliamentary oversight committee on finance.

In a statement on Saturday, Mr. Mursal directed the committee to continue their work and ignor the recent decision by his deputy Abdiweli Ibrahim Mudey to disband them.

“The Parliamentary Committee on Finance should continue their normal work and quickly conclude the review of the 2017 budget and the 2019 budget before the end of 2018,” Mursal said in the statement.

Mr. Mursal called for respect of the independence of the federal parliament, urging the government to accept the work of House oversight committees.

“The government should let the committee work without interference in their oversight and accountability roles of government institutions and should abide by the House Standing Orders and the laws of the country,” Mursal noted.

The development comes less than two weeks after the parliamentary committee on budget and Finance were disbanded by the first deputy speaker of the federal parliament of Somalia, Abdiweli Mudey.

Last month, the Somalia Parliamentary Committee on Finance and Budget has released a new statement alleging mismanagement of funds at the Ministry of Finance and Banadir Regional Administration.

The Committee said in their report that $20 million which was part of $50 million budgetary support from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 2017 has not been accounted. The committee has also ordered a full report on the whereabouts of the missing funds.